Katrina's fate
by Grasspaw
Summary: Eragon is too scared to raise Saphira, so he tries to kill her. But, unbeknownst to him, the dragon was not even meant to be his. She hatched for Katrina.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Eragon or Eldest or anything at all except my own books, but those haven't been published yet, so why mention them? Any way…**

Katrina stomped in to her father's shop, following Horst. Why was he so set against selling Eragon meat? He had never done anything to Sloan.

Then she noticed what Eragon was trying to trade. It was a large blue stone with fine white lines crossing over it. While the three men argued and yelled, as men did, she cautiously moved closer to the rock. She slowly reached out a small hand and stroked it. The stone was smooth and warm, more perfect than anything she had ever come across before. What was it made of?

She took her hand away reluctantly as her father said, "This is my store, and I can do whatever I want."

She stepped forward. "Father, Eragon _is_ willing to pay. Give him the meat and then we can have supper."

Sloan's face hardened. "Go back to the house; this is none of your business… I said _go_!"

She stiffened her back and walked out, though her thoughts were still on the blue rock.

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**(Several days later)** Eragon stared at the rock. It was rocking back and forth and squeaking so loudly he was sure it would wake up Roran and Garrow.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the stone stopped. It rolled off the shelf and onto the floor. It just sat there for several minutes. Then suddenly, one long, thin crack appeared on the otherwise smooth surface of the stone. Several more cracks appeared, then suddenly, the entire rock shattered. From the wreckage stepped a small, blue dragon.

Eragon recoiled in horror. Dragons were _dangerous. _He had heard Brom's stories before. Besides, if raised the thing, he would become a dragon rider. And he knew he could never do that. He didn't have anyone to teach him what to do or how to do it. There was only one thing to do. While the dragon nosed around the room, he quietly slipped out of the room and grabbed a large, heavy-duty bag, and some strong cord. He snuck up behind the dragon and, careful not to touch it, quickly slipped the bag over it. He tied the cord around the top of the bag very tightly, and quietly slipped out of the house. On his way out, he grabbed a knife.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Eragon or Eldest or anything like that. **

Katrina walked outside. It was just after midnight. After being thoroughly lectured by her father, she had gone to bed. But she had woken up several hours later, and something had told her to go out.

She walked to a small forest, about a mile outside of town. She sat down on a tree stump, getting herself comfortable. She sat for about thirty minutes, just enjoying the quiet. She was about to get up, when she heard a twig snap to her left.

She froze, for the first time thinking about how she was alone in the woods. At night. With nobody within a mile of her. And she had just heard a twig snap.

She slowly turned to see what it was. She expected a wolf or the likes, but what she did not expect was Eragon, carrying a sack and a knife. She shifted so that she could see him, but he could not see her.

He looked around nervously. Something inside the bag squirmed and made a little noise.

Eragon set the bag down, his face ghost white. He slowly took the knife out of his belt and... stabbed the bag with it. Dark red blood oozed out. Katrina stared in horror.

Eragon pulled the knife out and walked away, leaving the bag on the ground.

As soon as she was sure he was gone, Katrina rushed out of her hiding place and ran to the bag. She untied the knot around the top with trembling fingers. What could be in there that Eragon would want to kill? She knew it was probably dangerous, but it was dead, wasn't it?

At last, she managed to untie it. She carefully lifted up the edge of the sack. She had put on gloves and a scarf before she went out; it was just barely spring, so when she reached in to the bag to pull whatever was in there out, she didn't touch the dragon.

What she saw shocked her. A small, bright blue lizard-like thing jumped out and growled at her. I took her a moment to register that this thing was _not_ dead, and it had not been killed by Eragon. What was in front of her was a dangerous, bloodthirsty animal.

But now that she looked at it, it was not bloodthirsty. It was just terrified. Dangerous, it certainly was. Its leg was bleeding heavily where Eragon had stabbed it. He must have thought he stabbed its neck; otherwise he would not have walked off.

Katrina forced herself to be calm. Sitting in front of the dragon, she slowly held her hands up so that it could see she held nothing. The dragon assumed a less hostile poise, though it still eyed her suspiciously. She placed her hands in her lap.

The dragon nosed at its leg, which was still bleeding heavily. On an impulse, Katrina unwound the scarf from around her neck. She held it out to the creature, and though it could not do it itself, it understood what she wanted to do. It gave the tiniest nod of its head, and allowed her to wrap the scarf tightly around its leg.

Katrina had to take her gloves off to tie it, for they were thick and she had trouble bending her fingers in them. She sat back and surveyed her handiwork. The scarf was soaking up most of the blood, though a few drops squeezed out the sides.

The dragon looked up at her gratefully. She smiled at it.

"You need a name, now don't you?" she asked, though she knew it couldn't answer. It was blue, so surely a form of blue would be a good name. She thought of as many as she could. Sapphire, Navy, Indigo, Blue, Azure, and Cerulean.

She quickly ruled out Navy, blue, and indigo, which left Azure, Sapphire, and Cerulean. After much thought, she decided on Sapphire. But just "Sapphire" sounded too plain. Perhaps, Saphira? "What do think of Saphira?" she asked the dragon. _Her_ dragon.

It nodded its scaly head as though it agreed.

Katrina reached out to stroke it. The second her hand touched Saphira's head her entire body went rigid with pain. Lightning bolts seemed to shoot through her. After a few seconds, she retreated to the waiting darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**The inheritance cycle is not mine. Also, I know Eragon didn't fall unconscious when Saphira touched him for the first time, but we don't necessarily know that it's the same for every Rider. Therefore, I'm saying it's different for everyone. Besides, Katrina was cold, tired, and pretty darn scared, too. **

Katrina woke up several minutes later. She was lying in the clearing in the woods; Saphira was curled up on her chest like a cat.

Katrina very carefully reached for her gloves and put them on. When she was sure that they were on so that she wouldn't touch the dragon, she very carefully lifted Saphira off her and set her on the ground.

Katrina sat up and moaned. Falling asleep in the snow at night, even for just a few minutes, is not a good idea. She was stiff and sore all over. She rubbed herself quickly to try to warm up. After a couple of minutes, she felt less like an ice cycle, and more like a human being.

Saphira looked at her with ice-blue eyes. Katrina looked away. She felt as though the dragon was looking right through her. Then she remembered Saphira's leg. She slowly took off her gloves. Then she stared at her right hand.

There was a small, silvery oval on it that glimmered as the moon's light shone on it, for the moon was so bright it almost seemed as if it was day. She tried to scratch the mark off with her left hand, but it didn't come off.

After staring at it in perplexity for several minutes, she decided to just ignore it. She untied the scarf around Saphira's leg, careful not to touch the dragon. The blood had dried, and the wound had almost closed. But just to be safe, (She didn't want the cut to be infected) she gathered up a small handful of snow. She held it in her hands for a minute so it would melt some, then she packed it into the wound.

Saphira winced at the cold, but fairly soon it melted completely and trickled off her leg. Katrina wrapped the scarf around Saphira's leg after cleansing it of the dried blood.

Suddenly, she felt a detached emotion of gratitude. It was her feeling, yet not hers. She closed her eyes shut and covered her ears, trying to get rid of the feeling. It was scary, as though she was no longer herself, but someone else, yet still herself at the same time. But the gratitude… why should she feel grateful to anyone?

Instinctively she looked at Saphira. The dragon's eyes were brimming with… gratitude. The exact emotion she had just felt. Was she connected to this dragon somehow? How was that possible? Unless…

She shuddered at the thought. _No. I am _not_ a Dragon Rider!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh, shock, Katrina knows what she is now! This is not my greatest chapter ever, but hey, keep reading; hopefully it will get better. **

Katrina didn't know what to do. She just _couldn't _be a Dragon Rider. But she was. She just _couldn't _hide her dragon from her father. But she had to. The question was: how?

She quickly ruled out leaving Saphira in the forest; Eragon might see her and try to kill her. He had done it before; chances were he would do it again. At least she knew how to feed her. Her father was a butcher, wasn't he? It would be easy enough.

Then, as she thought of the raw, juicy meat hanging in the back of Sloan's shop, she felt an overpowering hunger, as though she had not eaten since the day she was born. Why should she feel hungry at the thought of raw meat?

Then she remembered Saphira. Their minds were connected, she had figured that much out. So it must be _Saphira_ that was hungry, not Katrina.

Katrina felt a pang of pity for the little dragon. Eragon had probably not bothered to feed it. She picked her up and walked quickly back to the shop. She guessed that it would be about another hour until dawn, so she opened the door and grabbed a large handful of meat.

Locking the door behind her, she walked over to where she had left Saphira hidden in a bush. She searched for her for a moment before she found her. The dragon's head popped up immediately when she smelled the meat. Katrina silently handed her the meat.

Saphira didn't even bother to sniff it. She knew it was meat. She ripped into it, getting blood and gore everywhere.

By the time Saphira finished her small belly was distended. Katrina looked up at the sky. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, making the snow glisten and sparkle.

Katrina's stomach lurched. It was only a matter of minutes until her father got up and realized she wasn't there. Now that the dragon was full, that left the matter of finding a place for her to stay.

She almost cried when the answer came to her. She had no place to put it, and Sloan would try to kill it before he would raise a dragon. She would have to run away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! I don't own the Inheritance Cycle!! I have very long toes!!!**

Katrina looked at Saphira sadly. _Stay here, Saphira. Stay, _she said telepathically.

The little dragon didn't know how to speak yet, but she seemed to understand what her Rider meant. Katrina sensed her agreement as Saphira burrowed farther into the bushes so that nobody could see her.

Katrina looked at her fondly, and then walked away.

She headed back to the shop, and, very quickly, picked up a small knife and gave herself a small cut on the cheek. It was shallow, so it didn't bleed a lot, but it still stung. In would scab fairly soon, then she would have a reason to go to Gertrude the healer and ask for a small thing of skin colored powder to hide it.

Of course, it would actually be for her hand, but Gertrude wouldn't know that. Katrina wouldn't let her see.

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A few hours later Katrina was standing in Gertrude's home.

"So, what do you need?" Gertrude asked.

"A small container of, I don't know. Like some skin colored powder?"

"For what?" the herbalist asked her.

"Well you see," Katrina said slowly, thinking over each word before she said it, for she didn't want to give her secret away, "I have this scab here on my cheek, and I was thinking…"

"Thinking you would like to cover it up. So Roran wouldn't see it!" the older woman laughed.

Katrina's pretty face turned bright red. What _would_ she tell Roran? She knew he wouldn't approve of what she was doing. He wanted to marry her, and how could they do that if she ran away?

When Katrina didn't answer, Gertrude went on. "Well I don't have any. Try asking Brom, he mentioned something about what you're looking for."

Katrina sighed and walked out. She felt slightly apprehensive about going to the storyteller's house. While there was nothing decidedly bad about Brom, she had always felt uncomfortable around him.

She was just thinking that she would turn around and go home when she arrived at the small house.

She stood staring at it for a moment, mustering up her courage, and then knocked on the door. A gruff voice from inside said, "Come in."

Katrina nervously stepped inside, and almost tripped over a huge stack of books. The room had a fireplace at one end, opposite of the door, with two chairs facing it. The rest of the room was covered in tons of books and scrolls. She didn't know Brom even knew _how_ to read, much less _like_ to.

"What do you want?" Brom asked roughly.

"Er, well, I was, uh, wondering, if… um, if… you had, some… dye? Or something?"

Brom raised an eyebrow.

"To, uh, cover up this, um, scab? So, eh, Roran wouldn't see it?"

Brom stared at her for a moment, then said, "As a matter of fact I do. Let me go get it."

The old man slowly stood up and walked to a different room. He came back a moment later with a small bottle of brown die. "Catch." He tossed it to her, and, surprised, she almost missed, but managed to catch it in the end.

"Well, uh, thanks," Katrina managed as she slipped out the door. _Saphira? _she called out with her mind. _Where are you?_ She couldn't reach her dragon's mind. Worried, she ran back to the bush where she had hidden her. Saphira wasn't there.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi peoples! I am in a very good mood today. But I will not tell you why. It will be my secret, and I will carry it to the grave! MUAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!!...... Why is everyone looking at me like that?**

"Saphira?" Katrina asked aloud, though still very quietly. "Where are you?"

She searched with her mind, but could not feel her dragon's presence. It was as though Saphira had never existed…

She stood there for several minutes, shaking with fright, when she remembered the bottle of dye in her hand.

She decided to go ahead and put it on her hand, and if Saphira wasn't back by that time, she would have to go looking for her.

She poured a small amount on her right hand then rubbed it in with her left. She kept doing it that way, pouring small amounts and then rubbing it in. She did it very slowly, hoping Saphira would come back soon. At last, her hand was completely covered. She decided to go ahead and cover up her cheek, too. When she had finished with that, she stood for several more minutes, then stepped into the bushes.

At that exact moment, she felt Saphira's mind connect with hers. Katrina almost gasped with relief. _Katrina?_ The dragon knew her name.

_Saphira?_

She stepped out of the bushes and waited some more. A few minutes later Saphira walked out. There were some small feathers clinging to her jaw. Katrina felt guilty. She had told the little dragon to stay there, and then she had left for several hours. She must have been starving. At least could hunt for herself. That was good.

_Hello, Saphira, _she said as soon as she saw her.

The dragon looked at her with solemn, ice blue eyes. Instead of answering, she sent her Rider an image of a small clearing where they could hide.

Katrina examined the memory. It was a small clearing, roughly triangular; it looked large enough for two men, and… a large dragon, not that Saphira was that big. She nodded.

_Lead on._ Saphira looked at her in confusion. Katrina remembered that Saphira only knew very basic words. She racked her brain for ideas, and then sent Saphira an image of her leading Katrina through the woods.

Saphira sent her agreement over their connection and began to walk off. After an hour or so, they reached the place. Katrina looked around. "This is a good place," she said to herself, and sent her approval to Saphira through their link.

She sat down, and Saphira crawled into her lap. "I need to go back," she said quietly, though loud enough Saphira could hear (But not understand), "Father will be wondering where I am. And besides," she looked down at Saphira. "I need to get supplies."

Saphira looked up at her sadly. She seemed to know that Katrina was going to leave again. She pressed her tiny head into Katrina's chest sadly.

Katrina sighed, and, carefully lifting Saphira off her, stood up and walked away. She walked back to the house, all the while tingling with excitement. The next morning , with any luck, she would be far away from Carvahall.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again! Here is the next chapter for you wonderful, wonderful people. Enjoy! (Or else)**

Katrina reached her father's house soon. She no longer referred to it as her own, because she would not live there anymore.

She sneaked inside without her father seeing her and grabbed a small dagger. Sloan had given it to her when she turned ten. While she knew he had thought to keep her safe until she died, he had taught her how to use it to some extent, so at least she wouldn't be unprotected in the wilderness.

She went down to the shop and opened the side door so Sloan wouldn't see her going in. She came out with a small leather draw-string pouch, full of dried strips of meat and a canteen of water. There was a lot in the bag, but there was a little room left.

Walking quickly back to the house, she went back upstairs to her room. She looked at the small bedroom, trying to capture it in her memory so she could always remember it.

There was the bed, shoved up against the wall and facing the window so that she could look at the stars at night, and next to it was a small table with a small wooden box on top of it. On the other side of the room was a small chest with all of her clothes in it.

She opened the small box and took out a drawing someone had done of her mother right before she had died. She was laughing, her hair brushed away from her face, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Sloan refused to say who had drawn it, he simply said, "An old friend" whenever she asked. She secretly suspected he had.

She carefully slipped it into an inner pocket in the pack, so it wouldn't take up any room, and so it wouldn't get wrinkled.

Next, she walked over to the trunk and lifted the lid. She took out the two floor length skirts and quickly made one long cut down the middle. Then, grabbing some needle and thread, she sewed them up the sides so she had two rough pairs of pants. She folded one of these up very tightly and stuffed it in the bag, drawing it shut and tying the strings together so it wouldn't come undone and spill everything out.

The other pair of pants she changed into, leaving her skirt on the bed. She didn't hope to pass off for a boy, she was too obviously a girl for that, but at least she could get around easier. She picked up her bag and walked downstairs, about to leave, when she stopped and went into the living room/dining room/kitchen/everything room.

Walking in, she sorted through a huge stack of papers until she found what she was looking for. It was a map of Alagaёsia. It only showed the country to the edge of the Hadrac desert, and it was rough and not very detailed, but it was enough.

She folded it carefully and put it next to the picture of her mother. Then she walked out of the house forever.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again! Two chapters in one day! Am I awesome? YES!**

Katrina walked quickly towards the place where Saphira was. It occurred to her that the dragon was only about a week old, yet she was running away.

As she walked, she thought about her plan. The Anora River ran around Carvahall and ended in a huge lake. She decided she would follow this river until she reached the lake, then she would head due east, for according to the map, there were dense woodlands there. She guessed it would be nearly impossible for anybody to find her there.

By the time she had finished making these plans she had reached the clearing. Saphira was sitting there, chewing on a small mouse. She swallowed it quickly when she saw Katrina.

She sat up and stared at her Rider, as though saying, _Well? Let's go!_ Indeed, Katrina could feel Saphira's impatience to be off.

_Wait, Saphira, _Katrina said. She realized that if they left now, night would soon be upon them, for it was late afternoon already. They would have to stay here for the night.

Katrina laid out the blanket I forgot to mention she had packed, took a small sip of water, ate a little meat, (she offered some to Saphira but she wasn't hungry) and went to sleep.

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The next morning Katrina awoke earlier than usual. It was hardly daylight yet, the sky was grey, and she was still tired, but she forced herself to get up. She sat up slowly and softly nudged Saphira.

_Wake up, Saphira._

The dragon stirred, then, to Katrina's surprise and amusement, _No._

She had to struggle not to laugh. She laid her hand on her hide and softly shook her. Saphira stirred, then reluctantly sat up and yawned. Katrina stood up and, shooing Saphira off the cone of the blanket where she had slept, folded it up and stuffed it into her pack. Grabbing the map again, she looked at it for a moment. She realized it would be easier to take the main road to Therinsford, then, instead of crossing the bridge, she would simply follow the river downstream.

She folded up the map, stuffed it into her bag, tied the drawstrings shut, slung it over her shoulder, and set out into the unknown.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi peoples! Okay, for those of you who are wondering, (although you have not said you are wondering, I can feel it!) Katrina is heading toward Du Weldenvarden. She just doesn't know that.**

Katrina walked for several hours, keeping just off the road so nobody would see her or Saphira. She walked until her legs were numb. Finally, when it was so dark she could hardly see in front of herself, she sat down. She picked up her pack from where she had set it down beside her, and, without getting up, took the blanket out.

She didn't bother to lay it on the ground, for the night was cold. She laid her pack under her head and covered herself with the blanket. A minute later Saphira crawled under and curled up against her chest.

Katrina woke up early again the next morning. She rolled up the blanket and set off, her pack slung over her shoulder as before. She quickly located the main road and walked along the edge of it, just out of sight.

After a couple of hours, she saw the bridge, spanning the width of the river. She altered her course so that she was walking along side the river, though still in the forest. After an hour or so, she sat down and shared some meat with Saphira. After that she thought it was safe to come out of shelter of the trees she refilled her canteen, for it was nearly empty. She bent down and scooped the delicious, cool water into it, and Saphira drank her fill.

They walked until nightfall, when Katrina was nearly stumbling with weariness. She set up camp and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next day she opened her pack to have breakfast. There was only one strip of meat left. She cut it in half with her dagger and she and Saphira split it.

Katrina chewed on her piece thoughtfully. If she was going continue towards that forest, she was going to have to figure out another way to eat. Saphira could hunt for herself, so she didn't worry about her, but what would _she_ do?

She had a vague idea what plants were edible, but she couldn't live off of fruit alone! She was too used to meat. She would share Saphira's catches, but she had no idea how to make a fire.

She shrugged and stood up. _Guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Come on, Saphira._

She was not satisfied with the meal, but she got up and walked off anyways, because she knew there was nothing left to eat. She decided just to ignore the empty feeling in her stomach.

However, as they walked on, that became increasingly more difficult. Her stomach growled, and she felt weak, for she was used to large breakfasts. Therefore, eating barely anything made her almost ill.

She stumbled along, going slower and slower until she sat down for a moment to catch her breath. She stood up after about ten minutes and walked on.

After another hour or so, she finally came upon some luck. There was a huge wild strawberry bush by the side of the river. She thankfully filled her pack and herself with the sweet, delicious fruit. She offered some the Saphira, but after sniffing one, Saphira decided not to eat any. Instead, she wandered off to go hunt.

While Katrina waited for her to return, she looked at the map again. She had been walking for three days. Measuring the distance between Carvahall and Therinsford with her thumb, she used that as a rough guide as to how long it would take to get to the forest. Her heart sank. It looked like it would take another week and a half to just to get to the edge of the forest. She sighed, folded up the map, stuffed it in her pack, and waited for Saphira to come back.


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, this is an extremely cheesy chapter, but bare with me. Please.**

Saphira came back fairly soon, her stomach full, and they walked on. The sun was just beginning to go back down. Katrina decided now was as good a time as any to teach her dragon to speak.

_Sun? _she asked, just to see if she already knew that one. Saphira looked at her in confusion. "Guess not," Katrina said. Then she pointed at the great yellow disk in the sky. _Sun, _she said again.

Saphira looked at her. _Sun,_ she answered. Katrina smiled.

The rest of the day was spent teaching Saphira how to communicate with her Rider. They spent several days just walking and talking after that first day. Katrina grew steadily hungrier, and she ate almost anything she could. When they came across a tree with a few nuts on it, she would climb to the highest branches in order to get to them. When they came upon any edible fruits, she filled her pack with them. Her hair became rough and dirty, for she no longer bothered to brush it, or pull out the small twigs that kept getting caught in it.

She stumbled on, finding comfort and relief in Saphira's unwavering presence. The little dragon knew exactly what Katrina needed. When she wanted to be left alone, Saphira gave her a little room. When she needed company, Saphira was right there. The little dragon was as high as her knee now, and still growing.

And so the days passed and the two of them walked onward, getting closer and closer to their goal. Saphira could now speak to Katrina in a recognizable language, so they whiled away the hours talking and searching for food.

The forest was now behind them, and they had entered a vast plain. There was nothing but sand and sparse grass as far as the eye could see. They kept following the river, though Katrina was growing weaker and weaker as they went on, for there were few plants around here, and none were edible. At this point, she began to eat sparingly what was in her pack.

Katrina checked the map. To her complete and utter joy, it looked like she was almost at the edge of the forest. To her complete and utter horror, she was out of food again. Now, she probably could have gone without food if she had been well fed up until that point, but she had eaten barely anything yesterday.

But she knew she had to walk on. Saphira was doing much better than she was. Because the dragon could hunt, she was still fairly full and able to go on farther.

They kept on walking. At the end of the day they had reached the forest and had been walking for an hour or so. Finally, Katrina could go no further. She collapsed on the ground, not even bothering to spread out her blanket, and fell asleep.

**Overly dramatic, I know, but I want the elves to find her all unconscious and half-dead and she has t- wait. I can't just tell you what happens next!**


End file.
